Not withstanding the flood of “illegal” drugs available on the street, how well has the FDA done its job of protecting the public from their “approved” drugs such as Vioxx, Paxil, Fosamax, Zelnorm and Fen Phen.  These are but a few of the many drugs "approved" by the FDA and subsequently pulled from the market only after side effects caused serious illness, disease and even death.

The history of FDA recalls raises serious concern regarding the FDA's pre-approval testing procedures.  It seems that the final "test" is to approve a drug for use by patients and wait to observe for undesirable side effects.

Recent experience suggests that drug producers are pressuring the FDA for early approval to cut the costs of product development.  The FDA's willingness to allow the general public to be used as test subjects raises serious concern for their commitment to their role of protecting the public.  For example, in February 2007, the FDA approved "Alli" --an over-the-counter version of the prescription diet drug Orlista that for the past ten years has shown to increase the risk of colon cancer. 

Recently, the FDA voted overwhelmingly to keep the diabetes drug Avandia on the market, despite the fact that it caused reported heart problems that led to the hospitalization of over 200,000 trusting individuals and the deaths of 80,000 people.  It is generally believed that for every "reported" adverse drug reaction there may be five to ten times as many that go unreported. 

The FDA does not deny that the drug is dangerous, but it claims the benefits outweigh the risks.  Try telling that to the people who ended up in the hospital or the 80,000 families of those that died from the drug.  By the way, that's about 22,000 more than all those who were killed in the Vietnam war.  Is the FDA waging war on the people they are supposed to protect?

Read what a noted medical doctor has to say on the subject: Click here.

Another question is does any new wonder drug actually provide the benefits which are claimed.  Let's look at the new cholesterol drug Vytorin, which recently has been advertised on TV.   The ad for Vytorin claims many benefits which are NOT SUPPORTED by their own clinical tests.  The big drug company Merck tried to hide the evidence, but was recently forced to release the damaging test results.  Steven Nissen, head of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic, said, "This drug doesn't work. Period. It just doesn't work."  Click here for a detailed report and a clever video from NewsTarget.com.

I don't know about you, but I have little faith in the FDA's commitment to protect me.  They seem far more interested in approving drugs that make a hugh profit for drug companies.  I believe it is the personal responsibility of each of us to judge for ourselves what we choose to put in our bodies.

How else is the FDA planning to protect you?
Click here to find out.